Secondary courses (or a minor) at VU Amsterdam

How do I apply?

• Are you enrolled in a joint degree programme / educational cooperation of which the VU Amsterdam is a part?

  If your study programme qualifies under one of these educational cooperations, you do not need to apply as a secondary subject student at VU Amsterdam. Make sure your (re)enrolment at the other institution is complete. For more information about joint education and how you can participate in education at VU Amsterdam, please click the link above.

• Are you studying at another Dutch educational institution?

  You can take secondary subjects at VU Amsterdam by registering as a secondary subject student. Unlike a regular study application, this is not done via Studielink, but via our website. After applying through the Register page, you will need to finish your application for secondary subjects at VU Amsterdam before your application can be taken into consideration and enrolment will be possible. Please follow the steps outlined below for a complete application.

  Please note: in order to give you access to education it is important that you complete your application at least six weeks before the start of the relevant course!

• Are you already studying at VU Amsterdam?

  To be able to take courses from another faculty, you have to follow a different procedure:

  1. First request permission from your own Examination Board. 
  2. Afterwards you can register for secondary subjects through the registration module on VU.nl. You can find the courses under the tab 'All courses' and should then choose the option 'search in extracurricular'.

  More information can be found on this page.

Application procedure for secondary subject students

• Step 1: check the admission requirements

  Before you apply, please note the following:

  • Check the admission requirements of the course(s) you want to take.
  • See for minors the minors overview. Some minors have an application deadline.
  • The starting date of the course(s) and minors can be found in the Study guide.

• Step 2: register as a secondary subject student

  Follow the steps below to register as a secondary subject student:

  • Go to the registration page and choose Registration for secondary subjects.
  • Select the correct academic year.
  • Insert your personal details. After this you will receive an email with your login details.
  • If you have applied at VU Amsterdam before, you already have a VU username (the so-called VUnetID). Is your VUnetID no longer active? It will become active again after signing in on the registration page.
  • Please only submit 1 application!
    If you submit multiple applications, you cannot become enrolled in our system.

• Step 3: complete your application

  Follow the steps below to complete your application:

  • Log in on your personal dashboard using your VUnetID, go to the Application module and select the app Complete application.
  • Complete your application by going through the entire form.
  • Upload the required documents, in this case a grade transcript. When uploading your transcript, the following information must be included:
    - your name
    - the name of your institution
    - the programme you are enrolled in
  • Submit the application form.

  Transcripts without mention of your institution or programme will be rejected. This will disable you from completing your secondary subject course application. It is therefore advised to obtain a transcript from your student administration. This does not need to be certified.

  Please note: in case you would like to register for a master level course, but you do not yet have a transcript that indicates you being a Master's student, you are expected to upload a Bachelor's degree instead of a transcript.

  Your request will be sent digitally to the faculty after your application has been completed. If you qualify, the faculty will grant you permission to follow the secondary subject courses. You can check the status of your application in the status overview in the Application module.

• Step 4: hand in a Proof of Paid Tuition Fees (BBC)

  In order to definitively enroll at VU Amsterdam as a secondary subject student you must hand in a Proof of Paid Tuition Fees (known in Dutch as Bewijs Betaald Collegegeld or BBC). If you have already paid tuition fees at another Dutch educational institution you can request a BBC at your institution, addressed to VU Amsterdam. Your institution should digitally send the BBC to VU Amsterdam. Do this as soon as possible before the registration deadline, so you can register for your approved subjects in time.

• Step 5: check your application

  Check whether you receive a confirmation of your application through email. There may be more students interested than places available.

  Please note: your enrolment request will only be processed after all the documents are received and approval is given by the faculty.

• Step 6: register for the approved subjects

  You need to register in time for all courses, internships/projects and (re)examinations. When you apply, you indicate which courses you want to take. After approval, the courses will automatically be planned in the registration module, after which you can register for courses per period. You will receive a reminder when a new registration period starts. For an up-to-date overview consult the registration and deregistration deadlines.

  You can register for planned courses yourself via the registration module. There may be exceptions for specific courses. For example: the faculty sometimes registers you for a work group. You can always check this in the Study guide.

  Unable to find the course
  Are you unable to find certain courses in the registration module? Then try the following:

  • Check whether you have selected the study course ‘Optional course' and the correct study year: at the top of the home screen for registration it shows for which study programme and which year you are viewing the academic plan. Make sure the correct data is selected here.

  You will only find the courses listed that have been approved by the faculty.

  Unable to register
  Students taking courses at VU Amsterdam as secondary subject students cannot add courses in the registration module. Are you having problems registering for courses? Please contact the Student Desk.

  Additional forms

  • Form additional examination opportunity
  • Form maximum capacity reached

More information for secondary subject students

• Checking results

  Check whether your results are complete and correct. Please send a request for correction to the faculty if any results are incorrect or missing. You can send the request through this form. A certified overview of results can be requested through this form.

• Taking an extra course

  Within the academic year
  If you wish to take an additional course within the academic year for which you have applied, go to your personal page on secondary subjects to add the desired course. If a previous request for an additional course has not yet been approved, you also have the option to remove the request.

  Outside the academic year
  If you want to take an extra/optional course in a future academic year, apply again via the application page and go through the application process.

• Academic advisor

  For any questions about personal academic student counselling and study advice, please go to the academic advisor. Also consult the academic advisor in case of any problems that affect your study progress such as personal issues, study-proficiency problems, study delay, illness, or caring for or worrying about a sick family member.

  Scheduling an appointment
  Students taking courses at VU Amsterdam as a secondary subject student can contact the academic advisor through this contact form. You are also welcome to visit us during the open office consultation hours to see how we can offer guidance.

• Examination Board

  If there is a serious study delay it is advisable to discuss this with your academic advisor before submitting a request to the Examination Board. The academic advisor can discuss the options with you and advise you when writing your request.

  Submitting a request
  You can submit your request through this form. The response time of the Examination Board is 30 working days from the moment your request is received. Please make sure that you receive a confirmation of receipt after you have submitted a request!

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